Chaplin Estates

However, the Chaplins were somewhat hamstrung by limiting bylaws and zoning restrictions. Two such restrictions would prove definitive of the neighbourhood’s growing character. First, no semi-detached homes were allowed. Second, municipal officials decreed that no more than half of the exterior of any home could be finished in stucco. As a result, manor-style homes with Tudor, Georgian and English Cottage architecture became the hallmark of the neighbourhood.

According to statistics compiled in 2009, Chaplin Estates has a slightly declining population of just over 5,100 people, down from 5,662 in 2006. This is due to the fact that the number of households in the neighbourhood also shrunk over the same period, from 2,649 in 2006 to 2,363 in 2009. From a real estate standpoint, this signals increasing exclusivity.

People of English, Scottish and Irish descent have historically dominated the neighbourhood, combining to form 41 percent of its 2009 population. However, like Toronto itself, it has become a very multicultural community. According to Statistics Canada, over 60 percent of the jobs in Chaplin Estates were described as “white collar,” with “blue collar” employees making up just 6.5 percent of the 2009 workforce.

Get your Chaplin Estates home’s value

Houses are generally two or three storeys in height, offering private driveways and generously sized premium 30 to 50 foot lots with expansive front and back yards. Typical lots have plenty of room for gardens and landscaping features.

The average home in Chaplin Estates is a three bedroom, two storey home. In August 2012 detached homes were selling for approximately $1.3 million. Rental units in the neighbourhood are few and far between, and those that become available range on average from $3,777 per month and up.

TTC access is convenient, with major bus routes running along Chaplin Crescent, Yonge Street, Eglinton Avenue and Oriole Parkway. Two subway stations are within walking distance: the southernmost subway station servicing the neighbourhood is Davisville, and its northernmost counterpart is Eglinton.

The Kay Gardner Beltline Trail is a former commuter railroad line that’s been converted to a nature preserve, and offers excellent walking, jogging and cycling paths that wend their way through midtown Toronto.

Eglinton Park is a placid open green space popular with dog walkers, joggers and cycling enthusiasts. Sunnybrook Park is one of Toronto’s best-equipped outdoor recreation areas, offering fitness and hiking trails, picnic areas, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and a horseback riding centre.

In the winter, the arena serves as the home for the neighbourhood’s bustling competitive and recreational ice hockey schedule and also offers leisure skating programs. The Neshama Playground at Oriole Park is also nearby, where residents can enjoy music programs, a splash pad, a climbing gym, a merry-go-round, outdoor play structures, and more.

The Toronto Public Library’s Northern District branch is situated on Orchard View Boulevard, and offers an extensive collection of books, periodicals, print materials and audio-visual materials, as well as Internet access and ongoing community programs.

As an upscale neighbourhood, finer dining options for patrons with refined palates are plentiful. However, Chaplin Estates also offers a wide range of ethnic options, including Japanese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Italian and Chinese foods.

There are also many casual eateries, take-out restaurants and pubs throughout the neighbourhood, offering both Canadian and international fare. The densest concentration of restaurants can be found along the neighbourhood’s main arterial roads: Avenue Road, Eglinton Avenue West and Yonge Street.

Given that much of the neighbourhood’s population is of British and Irish descent, most of the local churches are of the Anglican and Catholic Christian denominations. Synagogues are also located nearby, especially in Forest Hill, an adjacent neighbourhood with a large Jewish population.

• Oriole Park Junior Public School, 80 Braemar Avenue
• Davisville Junior Public School, 43 Millwood Road
• Hodgson Senior Public School, 282 Davisville Avenue
• North Toronto Collegiate Institute (high school), 17 Broadway Avenue

Would-be residents should note that private schools set their own admissions standards, and may only accept students who reside within strictly defined geographic boundaries. If you are considering moving to Chaplin Estates and wish to educate your children in private schools, it is strongly recommended that you familiarize yourself with admissions policies prior to your move.

Private girls’ schools in the Chaplin Estates area include:

• Bishop Strachan School, 298 Lonsdale Road
• St. Clements School, 21 St. Clements Avenue
• Upper Canada College, one of Canada’s most prestigious private schools for boys, is also located in the neighbourhood, at 200 Lonsdale Road

A comprehensive range of retail outlets, a full-service food court, subway access and a multi-screen movie theatre are housed in the mall. Eglinton Avenue West is home to “The Eglinton Way,” an exclusive shopping district with luxury fashion and jewelry boutiques woven between gourmet restaurants, professional services centres and decadent grocery retailers.

Pediatricians, general practitioners, medical specialists and dentists are easily accessible in the neighbourhood, especially in the Yonge Eglinton Centre. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a world-class hospital and outpatient care facility, is also close to Chaplin Estates, in the nearby Leaside neighbourhood.

With its historic charm and elegant grandeur, Chaplin Estates is one of Toronto’s signature upscale neighbourhoods. If you are thinking about moving to the Chaplin Estates area, or if you are a current homeowner selling, contact Jethro Seymour.

Jethro is a leading Toronto real estate agent specializing in the city’s graceful midtown neighbourhoods. He is in the top 1% of Toronto Realtors (realty sales statistics, 2026), and has the experience, thoroughness, dedication and insider knowledge needed to help you get top dollar for your home, or help you and your family realize your Chaplin Estates dream.

Get your Chaplin Estates home’s value

Jethro Seymour, one of the Top Midtown Toronto Real Estate Brokers, is a midtown Toronto residential specialist with over 20 years of sales experience in real estate, marketing, construction and publishing. He has helped many families find homes in Toronto’s great neighbourhoods, and has extensive knowledge of local markets, new home construction, resale home sales, and the condo market. Living in midtown Toronto, Jethro previews many of the homes that come to market for his clients and inventory knowledge. Jethro specializes in Midtown, Davisville Village and Leaside neighbourhoods.